A qualitative evaluation of a civilian-based crisis response program: Equity, process, and acceptability

Alternative crisis response programs have emerged nationwide in response to the need for social service and not law enforcement responses to mental health calls. The Community Assistance and Life Liaison (CALL) program in St. Petersburg, Florida, is one such initiative. Pairs of trained bachelor's level professionals ("community navigators") are dispatched to nonviolent crisis calls (e.g., mental health and substance use issues, neighborhood disputes, disorderly youth) instead of police. Following a quantitative first-phase evaluation of CALL, the present study represents the second-phase evaluation that focuses on implementation processes, impact, and acceptability. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 23 informants from three key groups (CALL leadership and team members, police and 911 staff, and community members). Six prominent themes emerged from the thematic analysis: support and initial buy-in; tension between safety and accessibility; fidelity and purposeful delivery; police referral/reduced burden; community awareness; and equity implications. A main tension involved ensuring the safety of navigators by adhering to stringent vetting of calls for nonviolence and ensuring that high-risk individuals most in need of resources could still access CALL's services. Police officers varied in their opinions of workload reductions and 911 call takers reported the program increased the impact of their work. Community members who came into contact with CALL endorsed having positive experiences overall. Finally, Black community leaders viewed CALL as a positive meaningful step toward culturally responsive services and requested further data on its equitable implementation. Recommendations from this study are provided to inform future or existing programs on processes that optimize acceptability and increase accessibility. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).